It was surprising how, in the past few weeks, the four MotoGP factory riders for KTM (Binder, Acosta, Viñales, and Bastianini), their managers, KTM officials Trunkenpolz and Beirer, as well as Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, didn't seem very concerned about the continuation of KTM's two MotoGP racing teams.
This occurred, notwithstand the fact that KTM AG has to reduce its workforce to 3,700 employees, stop production in January and February, with liabilities amounting to 1.8 billion Euros, 1.3 billion of which are to be paid by the creditor banks.
At a time like this, one might ask whether two MotoGP teams can be financed at a cost of around 40 million Euros. This is where the nasty rumors arose.
During the Formula 1 weekend in Abu Dhabi, the rumors were that former World Champion Lewis Hamilton might end up saving KTM's MotoGP project.
The Mercedes' English driver is now supposedly becoming the owner of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with Binder and Acosta, and also taking over the Red Bull Tech3 team from Hervé Poncharal.
But these wild speculations have no solid basis. Despite all the imaginative descriptions, Hamilton has already had cooperations with MV Agusta, the Italian luxury brand that is now 50.1% owned by Pierer Mobility.
As you all may recall, Hamilton's name was associated with a similar operation, but with the Gresini team.
Firstly, KTM has a contract with Dorna for the factory team until the end of 2026 and with Poncharal for two more years.
And KTM has set a goal of competing in the most important series, even during the restructuring phase, according to its motto "Ready to Race", while Husqvarna's and GASGAS's operations will be severely restricted and will no longer take place at all in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes of GP racing.
Furthermore, any purchasing negotiations would never be completed in time for the Sepang test at the beginning of February, while the start of the season in Buriram will take place on March 2nd.
Red Bull managers can only wearily smile at these speculations about Hamilton. "Never in a million years," they said from Salzburg.
The energy drink giant remains the sponsor of KTM's two MotoGP racing teams for 2025 and the years to come. And Hamilton has been the figurehead for the competitor, Monster, for a decade.
Also, if a MotoGP team gets into financial difficulties, Dorna will take back the two slots, as it once did with IodaRacing, AB Motorsport, Paul Bird, Forward Racing, Marc VDS, and so on.
Only in exceptional cases is a handover to an investor permitted, as was the case when two slots were transferred from Jorge Martinez to Petronas-Yamaha in 2018 and from RNF-Aprilia to Trackhouse Aprilia.
The Tech3 team was nothing but astonished by so much nonsense and by the speculation that Hamilton was taking over the two teams.
"These rumors are completely unfounded," Hervé Poncharal assured GPone.com today. "There's not a shred of truth in them. And I assume that this also applies to the factory team."
The teams of both riders have already been invited to a photo session in Austria on January 9th, 2025, and travel expenses for the Sepang test and the Thailand GP have already been paid.
At KTM, top managers know nothing about an investor named Lewis Hamilton. "Our main sponsor will be Red Bull, and we read the Hamilton story today with astonishment," a KTM manager told us.
The manager wished to remain anonymous because communication channels have been drastically reduced, due to the insolvency proceedings, in order not to cause unnecessary unrest.
"We're lively and active," Hervé Poncharal said assuringly. "We're ready to rock 2025 ... in orange."
